"Hmm. Dreaming again," Traveller sighed. He always had the most vivid dreams. Always. Seemed to be because of...well, exactly what he was, he supposed. Warmongers had vivid dreams. Well...they did now. He remembered, he was dreaming of one of his past adventures. Messing around in what they called "Argatha". Meeting with that Doctor Monty fellow...and planting two bullets in his smug face before he left. Hell, SOMEONE had to do it, right? Certainly wasn't gonna be Primis.

The void was almost home to him now. Dark, swirling purple voids. Whispers in the air, streams of energy circling above him. The ground beneath a mass of purple cubes that shifted and shivered beneath his heavy work boots. The wind was chilly, though he barely felt it in his heavy winter clothing...never mind wind in a void not making sense. But then, this was a dream, so it probably didn't matter.

He batted aside a floating purple cube. One of many, all part of what that fat scientist had once called Null Space. It was more than that, of course. Many dark things hid in this void. And sometimes, less dark things. Like the chirpy voice spilling out across the cubes; "Yoo hoo!"

Traveller turned his gaze to look at the source of the voice. It was another brown-furred Mobian Hedgehog, just like him. Same height, same proportions, same skin tone. His quills were styled differently, jutting out at much straighter and sharper angles, and his left ear was embellished with a single silver earring. His eyes carried not the black and red corruption of Traveller's; they were pure, iris purple in colour. He wore a black t-shirt, blue and red boots and a large blue trenchcoat that covered the rest of his body, alongside black fingerless gloves. He wore glasses, a nice red ascot tied around his neck and a scabbard slung across his back. In that scabbard, a sword, technological in style and bristling with energies.

Traveller looked shocked, but almost relieved, "...Markus?"

"Traveller!" his counterpart waved jovially, bounding over and stopping with a comedic skid in front of him, "How's things?"

Traveller continued with his shocked stare, before it slowly morphed into a quizzical one, "...Why am I dreaming of you?"

Markus shrugged, "Dunno. I guess we're the same guy, different timelines, our minds kinda...linked."

"Hmm..." Traveller sighed and scratched his head. He'd seen a lot of weird stuff over the past 24 hours and frankly he'd run out of shock and confusion to give out. So he merely shrugged and nodded, "Sure, let's go with that. How's the missus?"

"Azima?" Markus asked in response, to which Traveller nodded. He lit up and started talking excitedly, "Oh, she's doing well. We got a REAL good step up against the Black Arms, so she's in a good mood. How's you?" he got close with a teasing expression on his face, "I hear you involved with some gal!"

"Not like THAT..." Traveller growled, shoving him away with his off-hand. He sighed gravely, turning away from the alternate and then twisting his gaze towards him, "Her name is Meggy. Some lunatic Inkling sawed her legs off. Thought I'd stick around, help her adjust. Then I sort of...raided the Inkling city to get some new legs made for her."

"Oh yeah, Surgeon told me!" Markus said, hand placed to his head in thought. Traveller smirked, Markus was always one for more jovial theatrics. Well, compared to his brooding at least, "Said he's quite happy with how you handled the situation, even if it was a little...violent. Said he's gonna have a talk with the No-Zone, maybe use it as evidence to get them off your back for a while."

"That'd be nice," Traveller shrugged, turning to face him again. He chuckled as a dark but amusing thought crossed his mind, "Besides, it's Christmas. Sonic's probably making a mess they have to clean up, fighting some evil bugger, ain't he?"

The two alternates laughed like old friends, or rather chuckled in Traveller's case. The got close and gave each other a fist-bump, still laughing all the while. Markus wiped a laughter-induced tear from his eye, "Y'know, I'm proud of you too, man! When we first met you were still hurting from that other Warmonger, no? That squid? And now you've calmed down, you're helping people. A true hero!"

"Bah," Traveller sighed, dismissing the notion with a weary wave from his hand. He looked out amongst the void, "You're the hero me, I'm just some old washed up artefact. The first of something that never should've spiralled out of control."

"Then maybe with the No-Zone you can start doing some good again. Perhaps, fight them directly?" Markus suggested innocently. Traveller continued to look into the void, as the image of a sea of glowing-eyed lunatics flashed in his mind. Markus sighed sadly, walking over to Traveller and placing a hand on his shoulder, "Look, just because you renounced the name, doesn't make you less of a Markus like me. I know it's been a year or so since you went off the map, but when you're back for good, we're all gonna root for you. Me included! When I get time off from...the apocalypse and all."

Traveller looked at his alternate for a while, mulling over things. It would certainly be nice to stop running for once. Away from the No-Zone. Away from other lunatics. Away from his past. He smiled under the scarf, placing a hand on his shoulder, "...Thanks Markus."

"Don't mention it," Markus broke from the touch, "Looks like you're waking up now. Give my condolences to the dragon girl!"

As as the void faded around him, Traveller watched his alternate take his sword from his scabbard, inspect it and walk off. There he went, Traveller thought. A true, bona fide heroic type. The kind of man, perhaps, he should have been...

/

"Um...excuse me? WAKE THE FUCK UP!"

Traveller screamed as the real world flooded back in a blinding flash, "THURSDAY!" and he rolled to the side of his makeshift bed before he was able to calm. He sighed, looking up and around at where he was. Some kind of special room, of some sort. Large, wide, chequerboard floors and a giant clock at the back of the room. In the middle, a gigantic table lined with a white tablecloth and fancy plates and cutlery. Or, at least it was until he had scrambled himself awake. Now the cloth was disturbed, and a few of those fancy pieces were on the floor. Traveller grumbled, taking the leftover quill buried in the wood out with a grunt, before he stared at the mass of pink dress and blond hair in front of him, "Oh, you're Peach, right?"

"WHAT," the irate princess spat back out, "Are you doing, sleeping on my banquet table?!"

"I find odd places to sleep, what of it?" Traveller groaned, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He took his scarf and began the process of wrapping it around his scarred muzzle and his chest as he hoppe off the table and continued speaking, "Just had to find a place to sleep for the night, should be out of your hair in a bit. When's breakfast, by the way...?" he stopped and turned, expecting at least a reaction. He didn't expect Peach to...well, he didn't expect her to do THAT, "...Oh shit."

Next thing he knew, he was smashing through the castle's roof and soaring through the sky, screaming all the while. He tumbled mercilessly through the air for a good few seconds, watching the last of the explosion from within the castle settle, before he landed with a crash in the courtyard. It felt like every single bone in his body was...well not BROKEN but certainly fractured. He groaned, slowly dragging himself to his feet. He looked up through blurry vision; Saiko and Tari were walking down the path towards him. Tari looked worried, Saiko...less so.

[Hey there,] she grinned as Tari set about making sure Traveller was okay, [You get on Her Highness' bad side?]

"I always seem to with royalty..." Traveller sighed wearily, "So, we good?"

Tari broke from inspecting him - he seemed okay - to speak, " 's finished the legs! We're just gonna go check on Meggy now."

"Nice..." Traveller chuckled as the three set back down the path, "Let's get going then! As long as I can stop off, get some breakfast...and some bandages."

/

Morning dawned in the Spletzer household. The warm orange glow of the sun broke through the curtains and shone in Meggy's face. She groaned as she wiped the sleep from her eyes, then yawned and stretched her arms, getting into a sitting position.

"Man...that was a good sleep," she sighed, before she looked down, "Oh..." as much as she had wished it was all just a dream, it wasn't. Her legs still ended at the thighs, and her bedroom was still a mess from last night. A single tear dropped down her face, but she sniffed and brushed it aside, "Never mind. Like Desti said. Just keep getting up...keep getting up..."

She lay back down on her bed and took her phone from the bedside table; it was fully charged, so she took the cable out and began to do as she did every lazy morning; check the time and surf the web for a bit. It was the 23rd now, 9:54AM. She lazily scrolled through her Splatnet for a while; she still had her account, and being the winner of Splatfest had got her a fair share of fans...and some haters, but the former combatted the latter mercilessly. A lot of people excited for the holidays, of course. Some still angry that Meggy even existed. One even demanded more recolours of Red. But after the week she had, such comments felt so...small, and meaningless. Meggy smiled as her phone began to ring; she answered.

"Hi Meggy!" Tari's voice came through the speaker, excited and cheerful, "Merry...almost Christmas! We've got a gift for you, if you'd like us to come in."

"...Uh, sure! You...might have to come get me," Meggy chuckled somewhat. She sat up and waited for Tari to knock on her door and come into her room; they shared a quick hug before Tari helped her into the wheelchair and helped her downstairs. Meggy saw a grand group of people standing around in the main room; Saiko, Traveller, Professor and a whole bunch of boxes. Meggy looked confused, "So what's all this about? What's in those boxes?"

[Let's say we had an idea of sorts...] Saiko grinned warmly. It looked...weird, coming from her, but Meggy appreciated the effort, [Best thing would could think of to help you.]

"Help me?" Meggy asked, before some idea dawned on her, "Like...what?"

Traveller opened the first crate, and out came...two legs. Two mechanical legs, made of the same polished steel and blinking lights as Tari's robotic arm. They were as long as her old legs, strengthened with supports and attached via straps. Traveller pulled down his scarf so his muzzle was visible, and he too warmly smiled, "Merry Christmas, Meggy Spletzer."

"N-No way..."

"Here, I will help apply them!" beamed, taking the robotic legs to Meggy and attaching them to her thighs. He placed a headband with a bunch of technology on her head, then fiddled with the legs and kept talking, "Now, I have left careful instructions on how to handle them. They are prototypes, after all. You will need to break them in first, your brain will struggle at first to comprehend the controls. Uh, they'll need charging every night and the battery lasts for eight hours, less if used a lot. They need cleaning every three to five days and oiling every-"

" ?" Traveller cut him off quickly with a swipe of the hand across his scarfed neck, "KIND OF not the time?"

"Right, right, sorry," adjusted his glasses, and then cleared his throat, "Go on, Spletzer. See how they work for you."

[Even better?] Saiko joined in, with a wrapped present in her arms. She placed it in front of Meggy and assisted her in unwrapping it, [Saw you had an eye on these puppies...]

Meggy gasped. It was those boots she wanted. A darker shade. Black soles and laces, a pattern running down the sides. She slipped them on over her robotic legs - they fit perfectly. She concentrated for a little while, feeling the robotic joints move and whirr and calibrate as she imagined moving them. And then, slowly, with a grunt of effort...she stood up. The legs held, she was actually standing once again.

"Oh my God..." Meggy was overwhelmed with emotion, standing there shivering as tears formed in her eyes, "Oh my God..." she inched forward, slowly, before she hugged Saiko and Tari tightly and cried joyfully into their embrace, "Guys! GUYS! Guys..."

[You're welcome, kiddo,] Saiko grinned, patting the beanie girl on the back, [Go on, let it all out.]

"Come on, Traveller!" Tari cried out, reaching out to grab Traveller by his scarf, "You too!"

"Huh? Woah!" Traveller yelped as he was brought into the hug. He was shocked for a few seconds - this is simply wasn't something he was used to - but he returned the favor anyway. He just about managed to wrap his arms around the other three, leading to a good few seconds of cuddling.

Meggy sniffled into Saiko's jacket, "Thank you...thank you..."

"No problem," Traveller said warmly, "You deserve no less."

"...Oooh!" Tari jumped, "Idea! About how we can reveal this to SMG4."

Saiko looked on, [Go on...?]